Re:It’s hard to have an unusual name in China
by zinckiwi on Friday July 27, 2018 @03:06AM
(#17624039)
On the other hand, reverse roles for a second. Try opening a bank account in a Western country with a real Chinese name and you don't even get to the "fun" part. We have to put up with some language gotchas; they're forced to invent an entire new name.
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Re:It’s hard to have an unusual name in China
by seanmcdirmid on Friday July 27, 2018 @08:49AM
(#17625545)
Huh? Pinyin romanization in mainland China is extremely standardized and fixed by your passport anyways? How can these screw it up?
Taiwan and the other Chinese speaking places is where all the weird romanizations come from.
>they're forced to invent an entire new name.
If you're Chinese and find yourself in the West, you spell your name in Pinyin. You don't have to invent a new name unless you want to (I know a Chinese person who did this, but it was for social reasons, not necessity.)
On the flip side, you definitely should invent a new name if you're from the West and want to live in China for a extended period of time, or you'll find that life can be very painful. Sometimes you can even find a direct translation, e.g. David => 大卫 (Da Wei).
Re:It’s hard to have an unusual name in China
by seanmcdirmid on Friday July 27, 2018 @08:50AM
(#17625556)
Chinese names aren’t that useful in China for official business. They are useful for non-English speaking in-laws.
I rarely used mine while living in Beijing for 10 years.